Groups design the ultimate roller coaster by considering potential and kinetic energy. They test their designs using marbles and then go on to rate each group's design based on aesthetics, loop diameter, and cost.

How efficient is a motor in a LEGO set? Future engineers conduct an activity where a LEGO motor-generator system raises an object to a specified height. They then show what they learned and use their measurements to calculate the energy...

Fifth graders conduct a class survey and share the results with a class in another state via an electronic bulletin board. This technology-rich lesson is an ideal way to have learners practice communicating with others through the use of...

Wanna take a chance on which game is best? The resource provides three games of chance using multiple types of games. Games range from coin toss to cards. Choosing a type of game, pupils determine what wins and enter the theoretical...

Students investigate the economic and daily activities in a typical African community. They design and construct a small scale house, play an African board game, create African money, discuss vocabulary, and write an essay.

Stretch your teaching repertoire with an experiment on the elongation (stretching) and failure (break) of several materials. The point of the experiment is to design a composite material for chair webbing.

Students explore various careers in science. In this science and society lesson, the teacher leads a discussion on science careers and duties and responsibilities related to the careers, then students work together to create a mural of...

Get ready to laugh with your class by reading the book Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School. After they read the book and do activities comparing their first day of school with Amelia' they will then have conversations around the story....

Lunar explorers perform an experiment to understand the size of the craters on the surface of the moon. They layer flour, laundry detergent, and cocoa powder in a pan to model the lunar surface. They drop marbles from different heights...

Get your mathematicians thinking about probability with these three activity ideas using tangible math. First, students use dice to play a simple game, determining how many "odds" and "evens" they need to win. Next, they consider...

A series of geometry worksheets have mathematicians constructing, dissecting, overlapping, and measuring as they analyze angles in various contexts. Learners use symmetry and reflections in a compass rose to write instructions on...

Clever! Earth science learners construct a model of a planet containing a magnetic core. The planet, Terrabagga, is made out of a paper grocery bag, magnets, a dead D battery, and rubber bands. Pictures of each step of the construction...

Here you will find maps, great informational text, and vital information on political systems and government. The slide show provides material on democratic and nondemocratic systems of government as well as a map activity intended to...

 “Everything will end up okay if you believe hard enough.” “People create their own luck, good or bad.” Prior to reading Candide, class members respond to an anticipation guide that focuses on the issues of optimism, prejudice, and...

“There are often dangers from snow and wolves and night.” Bram Stoker’s “Dracula’s Guest,” which may or may not have been the first chapter of the original Dracula manuscript, is the focus of a Directed Reading Thinking Activity...

What are magic squares? First, review the activity with your class (there is a description available for you in the resource). Then, match terms from Ella Enchanted to their definitions. When your puzzle, or square, is finished, the...

What is heart rate? What is pulse? How do you find a heart rate by taking a pulse? What determines a person's heart rate? Will heart rate increase by doing some activity? Does exercising regularly strengthen the heart muscle? Take a look...

Watch the damage from a forest fire in this interactive simulation activity that challenges learners to estimate the burn area using different approaches. Learners are given a worksheet to track the different burn patterns and practice...

Some books are perfect for drawing connections between multiple subjects. The book Hill of Fire becomes the hub for three very different, yet related activity ideas. First the class hones their oral language skills by creating an...

Use this activity for PE class on a rainy day or during extra time at the end of class! Working in groups, class members must each make a successful shot toward a designated target and walk around the classroom to return back to their...

Time to switch up the seating arrangement in your class? Need to form random groups for an in-class activity or project? The object of this game involves class members switching seats precisely according to your directions and varying...

Encourage healthy lifestyles outside of school by having your class members complete an activity log. Pupils will track a physical activity they perform each day and its duration, and then have a parent verify the activities by...

How many trees can your pupils plant? Practice numbers 0-20 with several related activities. For the first, kids match images of trees to numbers. They then match the number symbols to number words, using a word bank. The final activity...

Travel back to 1787 as young scholars investigate the creation of the US Constitution. After first working in small groups to create sets of classroom rules, students go on to read a summary of the Constitution and watch a short video...